Developers concerned over delay to biodiversity net gain laws

The news follows last week’s speech by Rishi Sunak, in which the prime minister scrapped energy efficiency targets and disbanded the government’s insulation taskforce, in an overhaul of net zero pledges.

Gillian Charlesworth, chief executive of the Building Research Establishment, said the development industry has been “working hard to prepare” for the rules and delays “threaten to cause prolonged uncertainty for some major projects”. 

The government “cannot, and must not, miss its revised deadline” for the implementation, she said, so that industry can successfully deliver environmental improvements. “More and faster, not less and slower, action is needed if we are to meet our 2050 goals,” she added.

Neil Beamsley, head of biodiversity at house builder Bellway Group, said the company is “fully committed” to biodiversity net gain and that the delays are “a source of significant concern”.

He added: “For us to be able to deliver, we need a transparent delivery roadmap from government. Uncertainty around timescales and the absence of several vital documents are restricting our ability to do so.”

Philip Box, public affairs and policy advisor at the UK Green Building Council, said the delayed implementation of biodiversity net gain would “hurt green businesses and development”.

“This would be exceptionally damaging for them in terms of projected work pipelines, investment, supply chains, and related job roles,” he added.

Rob Wall, assistant director of sustainability at the British Property Federation, said the delay has the potential to create “yet more uncertainty at a time when industry is calling for greater clarity and consistency”.

He said that members of the industry group “fully support the policy intention” and that developers are “already actively delivering biodiversity net gain across the country”.

Neil Jefferson, managing director of the Home Builders Federation, said that there were “significant gaps” in government guidance that would “not only prohibit local authorities’ abilities to effectively manage this new requirement, but inevitably lead to further delays in the planning process”.

“We need government to deliver on its requirements so that industry can provide these huge environmental benefits alongside desperately needed new homes,” he said.